1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to compositions and methods for combating inflammatory disease and particularly to the use of food compositions for preventing and treating inflammatory disease.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are compounds reported to be beneficial for treatment of inflammation-related disorders such as arthritis. Omega-3 fatty acids are one type of PUFA that contain more than one double bond. They are called omega-3 fatty acids because the first double bond counting from the methyl end of the fatty acid is located at the third carbon atom.
Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids because they are essential to health but cannot be manufactured by the body. Therefore, omega-3 fatty acids must be obtained from food or food supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids are in fish and certain plant oils. There are three major types of omega-3 fatty acids in foods, i.e., alpha-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3). ALA is considered an essential fatty acid because it is required for health but cannot be synthesized by mammals. Mammals can, however, synthesize other omega-3 fatty acids from ALA, including EPA and DHA.
Omega-3 fatty acids are known to have a wide range of nutritional and health benefits such as reducing inflammation and treating inflammation-related disorders. Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to be important in arthritis, brain function, visual acuity, and normal growth and development. Omega-3 fatty acids have also been reported to act as anti-inflammatory compounds. They are believed to competitively inhibit the conversion of arachidonic acid to pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. Omega-3 fatty acids are also precursors to the synthesis of prostaglandins that regulate inflammation in mammals.
Rheumatism and arthritis are general terms for acute and chronic conditions characterized by inflammation and pain. Rheumatism is a general category of conditions characterized by inflammation and pain in muscles and joints, including arthritis. Arthritis is characterized by inflammation of joints that causes swelling and pain. Types of arthritis include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Rheumatic conditions include infectious arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis due to rheumatic fever, arthritis due to trauma or degenerative joint disease, myositis, neurogenic arthropathy, bursitis, fibromyositis and hydroarthrosis. The cause of such diseases in not always fully understood but may be the result of other degenerative diseases, trauma, or auto-immune diseases such as SLE. Inflammation also occurs as a defensive response to host invasion by foreign agents and mechanical trauma that results in an immune response, e.g., microbial agents such as bacterial and viruses, toxins, and neoplasia.
What these diseases and conditions, both examples of inflammatory diseases, share in common is inflammation and the resulting pain. Prior methods for preventing and treating inflammatory diseases have generally focused on pain-killing and anti-inflammatory drugs. Typical methods have focused on oral medications such as steroidal cortisone derivatives and numerous non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Unfortunately, these drugs almost always exhibit undesirable side effects. Other efforts have focused on joint implants such as the knee or hip implants. These methods are lengthy and complicated surgical procedures that force the patient to undergo costly invasive surgery and a significant recovery period requiring a rigorous and costly regimen of physical therapy. There is, therefore, a need for new methods for preventing and treating inflammatory diseases that avoids the undesirable side effects and costly surgical procedures characteristic of previous methods for preventing and treating inflammatory diseases.